Student Health Services

Emergency Contraception

Emergency Contraception (EC), is available by appointment; the cost is $20. Call us at 408-864-8732, or stop by the office to make an appointment.

As we all know, emergencies can happen on weekends, when you are out of town, or at other inconvenient times. EC is most effective if taken within 72 hours (3 days) of unprotected intercourse.

EC is also available at many other family planning clinics. To get a recorded list of clinics near you, call 1-800-NOT-2-LATE or visit their website at www.not-2-late.com.

If you can't get to a clinic, you can also obtain Emergency Contraception at numerous pharmacies in California. The cost is between $25 and $75.To get a list of pharmacies where EC is available, go to www.EC-help.org, or call 1-800-323-1336. Please note: Call ahead to make sure the trained pharmacist is available.

Getting EC from a clinic versus a pharmacy:

EC is most likely going to be cheaper at a health clinic than at a pharmacy (for instance, one pharmacy we called charges $45 for the EC and an additional $35 for a consultation fee).

A health care provider at a health clinic will discuss with you your risk of having contracted a sexually transmitted infection and offer testing if necessary, while a pharmacist will not.

A health care provider at a health clinic will be able to offer you other methods of birth control, while a pharmacist will not.

A health care provider at a health clinic has a broader range of training and experience than a pharmacist.